The HRD Ministry has taken several prompt, new and unique initiatives to ensure that the education of learners should not get affected by the challenging situation arising out of Covid 19 .
Under the direction of MHRD, NIOS has initiated a unique method to ensure effective schooling to reach the unreached directly at door step. Fulfilling the objectives of quality education, content is being made available online through 'SWAYAM’ MOOC platform of MHRD for various subjects from class 9th to 12th. Along with Self Learning Material, 'SWAYAM’ portal provides video lectures and facility of self-assessment. The questions and queries of the learners are also being resolved through discussionsforum.
In addition, for those who do not have much access to internet, these video lectures are telecast on MHRD SWAYAMPRABHA TV channels with Live sessions to interact with their teachers and subject experts.
Those students who are preparing for JEE and NEET arebenefited while sitting at home through this initiative.
In wake of COVID-19 pandemic, NIOS has made excellent innovations in telecast of Live session through Skype in joint association with KVS, NVS and CBSE & NCERT through Swayam Prabha DTH Channel Panini , Channel Sharda  of NIOS and Channel Kishore Manch  of NCERT. Now, the subject experts are able to connect for the Live telecast of SWAYAMPRABHA through the SKYPE from their home.
The learners can watch the lesson based educational programs on these DTH Channels and NIOS YouTube channel 6 hours of recorded broadcast from 7.00AM to 1.00PM followed by 6 hours of Live session from 1.00PM to 7.00PM with four different subject experts for one and half hour session each. Learners can ask questions directly to the subject experts from their home through phone call on the number displayed during Live session and through 'Student Portal' of NIOS web site directly in live telecast.
On the request of the Union Minister for HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Union Minister of I&B Sri Prakash Javadekar Tata Sky and Airtel DTH operators have agreed to air three Swayam Prabha DTH channels on their DTH platform. Now these three Swayam Prabha DTH channels are available through all DTH service providers besides DD-DTH and Jio TV App. People can request their DTH 'Service Provider' for these channels without any extra cost as these are free to air channels. The learners can continue their education and learning even sitting at home in this difficult situation arisen due to unfortunate outbreak ofCOVID-19.
The channel number in different DTH service providers are as follows:
In Airtel TV: Channel # 437, Channel # 438 & Channel # 439
In vmVideocon: Channel # 475, Channel # 476, Channel # 477
In Tata sky: Channel # 756 which pops up window for Swayamprabha DTH channels.
In Dish TV: Channel # 946, Channel # 947, Channel # 949, Channel # 950
SWAYAM PRABHA is an effective tool of learning for those who do not have internet access at their home. The SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite. Every day, there will be new content for at least  hours which would be repeated 5 more times in a day, allowing the students to choose the time of their convenience. The channels are uplinked from BISAG, Gandhinagar. The contents are provided by NPTEL, IITs, UGC, CEC, IGNOU, NCERT and NIOS. The INFLIBNET Centre maintains the web portal.All 32 channels are available at DD DTH and JIO TV mobile App.
The DTH Channels cover the following:
- a)Higher Education: Curriculum-based course contents at post-graduate and under-graduate level covering diverse disciplines such as arts, science, commerce, performing arts, social sciences and humanities, engineering, technology, law, medicine, agriculture, etc. All courses would be certification-ready in their detailed offering through SWAYAM, the platform being developed for offering MOOCs courses.
- b)School education : modules for teacher's training as well as teaching and learning aids for children of India to help them understand the subjects better and also help them in preparing for competitive examinations for admissions to professional degree programmes.
- c)Curriculum-based courses that can meet the needs of life-long learners of Indian citizens in India and abroad.
- d)Assist students  prepare for competitive exams.
Channels 01-10 are managed by CEC-UGC
Channels 11 to 18 are Managed by NPTEL
Channels 19 -22 are managed for high School students by IIT Delhi and is called IIT PAL
Channels 23, 24, 25 and 26 are managed by IGNOU New Delhi
Channels 27, 28 and 30 are managed by the NIOS, New Delhi
Channels 29 is managed by UGC-INFLIBNET, Gandhinagar
Channel 31 is managed by NCERT
Channel 32 is managed by IGNOU and NIOS jointly
For more details of SWAYAM PRABHA Channels kindly click the given link
https://www.swayamprabha.gov.in/index.php/ch_allocation